Building and executing an effective corporate strategy

This Case Study will profile the substantial management change undertaken by Alinta, a large Western Australian energy company. They were faced with a dynamic operating environment that required the development of a clear strategy to ensure the future success of the business. As a result of reading this Case Study, students should be able to:

• Understand the pressures for change on large-scale organisations 
• Analyse effective change management in a specific context
• Explain strategies and processes to manage change effectively.

Introduction

Consumers and business have a heavy reliance on high quality, reliable and dependable supplies of energy such as gas and electricity.

Understanding the external environment: the start of the journey

The change journey really began in mid-2000 when the state government privatised Alinta and announced that the natural gas market would be deregulated in Western Australia by October 2000.

The strategic management strategy

In order to be clear about the future direction of the business, management conducted an extensive SWOT analysis.

Alinta's strategy

In late 2001 Alinta announced its strategy for the achievement of the vision. It consisted of three essential interconnected cornerstones.

Executing the strategy

The concept of execution is central to the effective implementation of a strategic plan. The execution of the strategy would flow down to four key dimensions of Alinta.

Measuring the execution of the strategy

Management's next concern was how to best measure progress against the execution of the strategy.

The results: the journey so far

In the three years following the implementation of the strategy with its three interrelated cornerstones highlighted in the previous section, Alinta has accomplished the following:

Conclusion

Alinta has undertaken a successful journey over recent years and has managed the substantial changes in its business environment.